Enter my World
by Cursed-Avenger1
Summary: OK, I know what you're thinking, not another bloddy self insert, But I have tried to make this one different, I rpomise. Anyway, my cousin and I get thrown into the world of JakII, will we cope? You'll have to read to find out.IMPORTANT NOTE:I have reuplo
1. Entering

Heya peeps.

I know, another self insert, but please, don't let that put you off, I promise I tried as hard as possible to make this a little different.

And aren't we Jak fans happy? JakX is OUT NOW!

For those of you who haven't got the game andare as impatient as I am, check out my profile for a few previews.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only myself, my cousin owns herself and Naughty Dog owns the rest, lucky buggers.

Enter my World

Days rarely went smoothly for me, and this day was going to be no exception, my cousins were coming round. Usually I would jump at the chance for a bit of fun and mischief, but today, I just felt like playing on the computer and PlayStation, not much to ask really. I was determined to get as much PS2 time in as possible before they arrived. My mum had gone to look after them and was going to bring them back later to stay the night, I'm sure she won't mind me having a go. Switching on the PlayStation I popped in Jak2 and started playing. After a while I reached the point in the game where you have to knock out the ship carrying the Eco, after several miserably failing attempts, I decided to watch some of the cut scenes, I had already got a completed version saved on there for this purpose, so they were all available. After a while, I felt my eyelids growing heavy, and I drifted off leaning against the sofa, just as someone entered the lounge.

A few seconds later I felt something cold and metallic pressed against my neck, thinking it was Robyn trying to annoy me I groaned and pushed it away, a pain shot through my hand and I lurched forwards, clutching it to my chest, my eyes snapped open and the first thing I noticed was the blood trailing down my palm, leaving a bloody mark on my Denim jacket and black T-shirt where it had brushed against them, the next thing I noticed was that I was no longer at home, my surroundings were strange, yet I recognised them, I turned my head to the side and practically fell off the bunk I had landed on as I scuttled back, there in front of me was someone I had never thought it possible to see except on a TV screen, light from a lamp danced across his face, warping his tattoos.

"T-Torn?"

The dagger in his hand came back to my throat and a hand clasped my shoulder.

"Who are you, how did you get in here?"

"I-I…"

"What? Ottsel got your tongue? Or shall I just cut it out?"

Suddenly there was a groan behind me, spinning my head round I saw Robyn kneeling on the floor beside the bunk.

"What the…" she gasped as she saw her surroundings, she caught sight of Torn with his dagger at my throat and I could of sworn she was close to tears with fright, I was glad to notice she had at least chosen to wear jeans, trainers and a black and white striped jumper today, after all, you can't run as easily in skirt and sandals.

"Nanny?" she cried out, it was then I noticed our ears had lengthened to the ones usually seen in the game, if it wasn't for the situation I was in, I would of laughed, if only to stop myself from screaming.

Torn lowered the dagger slightly in surprise, and his grip on my shoulder loosened, giving me enough room to leap off the bed, grab Robyn's arm and head for the door, we were almost out when someone else entered, we knocked into them and were sent crashing to the ground.

"Stop them!"

I held Robyn to me as the newcomer hauled us to our feet, lurching away from him I backed into a corner with Robyn held to my chest, she was clinging to my arm tightly and I could see tears appearing. I looked at the newcomer and my heart lurched as I recognised the blond. Jak.

I relaxed slightly, at least with Jak and Daxter here we had more of a chance.

"Please" I begged "We didn't mean any harm"

"How did you get in here?" Torn repeated

"I...we…" my mind raced, trying to think of something, I thought through all the other fictions I had read on Fanfic, but couldn't recall any of them.

"Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna go home"

"Come on Torn, they're just kids"

"That girl's nearly as old as you are" Torn pointed out, I swore.

"We honestly don't know how we got here" I said, panic rising, what if we couldn't get back, was Molly here? If she was somewhere in this city alone, I worried, what chance had a six year old? Let alone twelve and fifteen year olds

"What do you mean?" piped in Daxter.

"You must remember something" Jak finished

I gripped Robyn tightly, silently praying she wouldn't say anything, fortunately, she was too frightened to even move.

"Only that one minute we were in the street, the next we were in here"

I felt Robyn shift and could tell she was looking at me questioningly, catching her eye I shook my head slightly and she got the message, she let me do the talking.

"Where are your parents?" Jak asked kindly.

"We don't know" I answered truthfully.

"We have no room for dead weights or immature brats in this movement, if you want to stay alive in this city you have to join us, and if you want to join us, you have to prove yourselves, you can accompany Jak on his next mission, survive, and you can join us, die, and it will be a mercy"

He tossed us a scatter gun, it clattered to the floor beside us as I was still trying to peel Robyn off of my arm. What little confidence I naturally possessed was slowly returning.

"You really should work on your first impression if your hoping to recruit enough members to win this war"

"Get out!"

We had to collect something from dead town, our job was to watch Jak's back while he collected whatever it was. We entered the ruins through the airlock and I readied my gun, expecting the metal heads which popped out of the sand in front of us, Robyn screamed as one headed for her, it jabbed it's tail at her and caught her arm, I knocked it back then fired at it with the gun, when they were all seen to I checked on Robyn, the wound wasn't serious, but it was bleeding enough for me to be worried, I checked the pockets of my jeans and produced a scrap of material I had picked up from textiles at school, tearing it I tied it round her arm.

"Are you sure it's hygienic? Hey" I rolled my eyes at her and tugged the makeshift bandage tighter.

"Perhaps you should stay in the airlock" I suggested

"I'll stay and protect her" Dax offered, I covered a smile with my hand as I remembered what he was like when confronted with a metal head

"Hey toots, what's so funny?"

"Nothing" I said, straightening my face

"Perhaps you should stay here" Jak said to us

"No way, I'm ready to learn to kick some ass, besides, I'm gonna have to eventually any way if I do become a member, so I might as well learn how"

He nodded and headed off, I settled Robyn in the air lock and left her my jacket, leaving me in just a black T-shirt, fingerless gloves, jeans and trainers, grabbing the gun I managed to attach it to a loop on my jeans and headed after Jak.

I was glad for my addiction to the game, I knew where practically every enemy was and the best ways to counter them, eventually Jak gave up being surprised and concentrated on finding what it was he had been sent for, I expected it to be the seed at Samos's hut, but no luck, it ended up being a package lodged in a wall, a speaker on Jak's tunic crackled into life and Torn's voice could be heard.

"Well done you three, and Daxter, I guess," his fur stood up at this and he gave an in dignified squeak "you head back to the hideout and I'll give you a brief"

We headed back and met Robyn, she hugged me and I messed her hair up, she pouted but we ended up laughing, linking our thumbs and wrapping our fingers round the other's hand , our friendship sign.

"These chicks are weird" Daxter commented, I said something to Robyn and we burst into fits of giggles all the way back to the hide out.

Oh how I wish that's how it had happened, that we had made it back with no trouble, but because my life is ruled by Sod's law, it never could, as we were walking back towards Robyn we were unaccounted for one thing, the shadow which lurked behind us, before choosing the right moment to strike, right for it anyway, Jak was knocked to the ground as the metal head attacked, he lashed out at it and I reached for my gun, but was too slow as the metal head gave up and lurched at me, I was sent back to the edge of the platform, I teetered on the edge for a second that felt like an eternity, before gravity won and I was sent hurtling into the waters below, murky darkness surrounded me, the water flooded me and it tasted acidic in my mouth, it forced its way into my lungs, drowning me, pulling me deeper, finally, my body gave up, and darkness took me.

But not for long, soon light surrounded me, I could feel it warming me, then a shadow fell across me.

"She's coming round"

I groaned and sat up, or tried to, before a hand pushed me back down, panicking I tried again.

"Easy, you need to rest"

Only snatches of events came to me, as I tried to make sense of my surroundings

"Robyn?"

I felt an uneasy silence, and panic gripped me again, I lurched up before anyone could stop me, I was still in Dead Town, Jak had managed to pull me onto the sands clear of the water, now he was sat on his heels a couple of feet from me, his gaze avoiding mine, I looked to Daxter, but even his annoyingly cheerful face was sober.

"Where's Robyn?"

"I..ah..we uh" he faltered

"We couldn't find her"

"What do you mean? she was in the airlock"

"We only found this" with that he tossed me my jacket, I checked it over, no tears, so there can't have been a struggle, but where was she, I swore, god I just hoped she hadn't wandered after us. As if in answer to my fear, a scream went up not far from us, followed by a metal head's screech of pain, Jak headed for the source, but I soon over took him, turning a corner he ran straight into me as I stopped suddenly

"Why… couldn't you… run like that… earlier?"

"My cousin wasn't in trouble then"

But it seemed we needn't of rushed, Robyn had climbed onto a narrow shelf and was curled into a corner, screaming every time a metal head came near and kicking it hard in the face, sending it hurtling to the ground with a sickening thud, there were already quite a few with broken necks on the ground, and many more with their heads at odd angles, I grabbed Jak's blaster mod and aimed at the ones who had started to climb above her, picking them off one at a time, then I converted it to Vulcan and started rapid fire at the group on the ground, thinning their numbers considerably, tossing Jak his gun I grabbed mine and launched into the metal heads, lashing out left right and centre Robyn screamed again but this time no screech followed, looking up I saw that one had managed to climb onto the shelf and had trapped her legs, I started for the rock but something hit the back of my head, and I was plunged into darkness for the third time that day, the last thing I saw was the triumphant grin of a metal head's jaws.

Pain exploded in the back of my head, causing me to groan, I collected my thoughts and lurched up, stopped by the sudden throb at the back of my head, looking round I saw the ground scattered with metal head corpses, turning my head to one side I spotted a blond figure hunched over a body, I staggered over and stopped when I saw Robyn, her slight figure was held in Jak's arms, her thin face pale as a gash seeped blood, falling to my knees I reached for the remains of the cloth which I had used to bandage her arm, and wiped the blood away, walking round the other side, I lifted her up out of Jak's arms and carried her bridal style, Jak's head remained bent, but as I passed he jerked awake, realising his arms were empty, he glanced around, and was relieved to see me carrying her, standing up he tried to take her from me but I turned away, and started walking towards the air lock, we walked in quiet, occasionally broken by Daxter's attempt to lighten the mood, but it fell flat as we entered an uneasy silence.

We stole a three-seater zoomer to get back to the hideout ,I settled Robyn in the middle seat and held her all the way back, entering the hideout I set her on a bed before giving up and collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

First light, then murmured conversation entered my conscious mind, I groaned and tried to remember what had happened, the last thing I remembered was Robyn showing up as I was playing Jak2, the voices grew louder and I let my arm hang from the bed, fumbling to try and find my CD player, a hand landed on my back, a small hand, I tried to shrug it off.

"Ugh… Molly, it's too early, go back to bed"

"Hey, sleeping beauty, time for ya meds."

I shot up at the unfamiliar voice, sending it's owner flying onto a bed opposite me, glancing round I took in my surroundings and realisation hit me hard, finding Robyn I rushed to her bed, ignoring the throbbing at the back of my head.

"Robyn? Hey, twiggy, time to get up"

No reaction, panic welled up inside me and I tried to hold back tears, a hand was on my shoulder and it guided me away, suddenly, there was a coughing behind me.

"Ack, I knew there was a reason I never liked those computer games of yours"

With a cry of relief I launched myself at her and almost sent the both of us off the other side, laughing I held her to me, not even letting go as hands pulled us to safety.

"Uh, Steph? Kinda need to breathe here"

"Think I care? Give me a fright like that again and I'll do more than strangle ya, I'll bloody kill ya"

"Quit showing off, and get off me!"

I sat back, frowning at her

"I'm not showing off"

"No? you usually do in front of a guy you-"

Lurching forward I clamped a hand over her mouth, almost sending us over the edge again

"Okay, break it up, I've another mission for you two"

"Hey, lighten up would ya? Jeez, I see what Jak means by 'charming' sense of humour"

"Torn, is it really necessary they go out again? They've only just come to"

"If they want to stay here they need to earn their keep"

"Hey, no problem, just give me my brief and I'll be on my way"

"Me too"

"No"

She frowned at me, settling back she crossed her arms

"Why not?"

"You never liked this game, why should it be any easier in reality?"

"If you're done, deliver this this the Hip Hog"

"Right, you're definitely not coming, you've seen my driving"

"You're right, I don't wanna come"

"Oh yeah! Time to rip up some pavement, oh, and Torn, two words, chill pill"

Grabbing the package I headed out the door, I had just started up the zoomer when Robyn caught me

"Change of mind, I'm coming, you left me out of the last one"

"Fine, hop on, and hold on for dear life"

My driving really was as terrible as on the game, worse when I realised I had no idea how to fly the damn thing, guards got suspicious, then I knocked one down and the race was on, changing to the pedestrian zone, I ploughed through the guards.

"Careful, you'll kill somebody"

"That's the idea"

"You're mad, I want off"

"Yeah? Well You'll have to wait"

Reaching the port I sped across the waters, freaking Robyn as I rapidly changed zones to miss vehicles, by the time we got off, Robyn looked as if she was ready to be sick

"Never, I repeat never, let me ride with you again"

"You wanna drive?"

"Second thoughts, you drive"

We entered the hip hog, I glanced around hoping to catch sight of its large owner, I felt Robyn stiffen as she saw Sig, his massive frame dwarfing us as we came close, but I just walked pass him, because Robyn hadn't played the game she didn't know that, despite his size and build, he was really a good guy, stepping up to the bar I set the package on it, before a vile stench reached my nostrils, trying not to gag I turned to find Krew watching us, Robyn gave a cry of shock and stepped behind me.

"Don't worry, you haven't lost any money, your ore's in one piece"

"hmmm, yes, that's good eh, that bundle's worth more than ten of your lives. Sig, give our guests here, a bonus"

Sig stepped forwards and Robyn squeaked in fear, but I just waited for him to toss us an upgrade.

"Beat the course, and I'll think about you for a job or two"

"No thanks, we're not looking for work"

"Have it your way, but come back if you change your mind"

Leaving I sagged against the wall and took deep breaths

"What do you say we walk back?" I asked, glancing at the smoking remains of the zoomer.

"I'd say we've more chance of staying alive"

The walk back gave me a chance to think, namely about how we were going to get back, but something else was bugging me, where exactly were we in the game?

Back at the hideout, we crept in and, when Torn's back was turned, settled on a couple of bunks, they creaked below us and Torn spun round, I was reclining on one, my hands linked behind my head, Robyn was perched on another, running her hands through her hair

"Hm, back already?"

"You seem surprised"

"Whatever, I've another mission for you"

"First, I want a few answers, what was the last race in the stadium?"

"Class 2"

I swore, that meant that Krew already had the ruby key

"If that's all, Onin needs to see you"

We left again, this time, I grabbed a two-seater, taking a map from my pocket I scanned it.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Printed it off the internet"

Pocketing it I started the zoomer, made it halfway there, and cursed, I HATED traffic jams, switching zones I kicked it into full speed and ploughed through the crowds, bouncing off walls as I missed corners.

"Uh, Steph?"

"What!"

"We're on fire!"

Swearing, yeah, I do that a lot, I swerved round the final corner and leapt off the vehicle onto the grass, Robyn close behind me, the vehicle scraped along the wall, smoking like no tomorrow, before blowing up.

"Oh Yeah!" I yelled before realising we were still being chased, grabbing Robyn's arm I headed into the bazaar, ignoring the guards, we pegged it, yelling as shots barely missed us, reaching Onin's tent we dashed inside, skidding to a halt as we saw the inside, jeez, and I thought it was freaky in the game.

"Onin said, where were you?" Onin made a warning gesture "Oh all right, all right, Onin really says, thank you for coming, we have been waiting for your arrival, what you have brought us will be of great use to us for this war, and you must be warned, nothing must change"

Nodding we left.

"What was that all about?"

"We, well, at least, I, know what happens, and I can't do anything to change that"

"Not even save Vin?"

"Nope, his death is needed for Jak3"

"Bother"

We made it back to the hideout in one piece, wet, but in one piece.

"What happened to you two?" Jak asked as we entered the hideout dripping with water.

"Uh, a little thing known as trying not to get you head blown off" he raised an eyebrow and I sighed "we pranged a few guards with a zoomer and decided to camp out in the water near the stadium while they ran around like headless chickens."

"If that's all, Jak needs your help again, I want you three to go to the old KG factory and hook up an old trans pad, when you're done, contact me on the communicator and I'll turn it on this end, when I give you the go ahead, I want you to use it to ship as much spare ammo as you can, the KG still use it as a spare ammo depot, so there shouldn't be many guards, but be careful, we don't want them discovering the trans pad"

"Jeez, he don't half go on does he?" Robyn muttered, I grinned

"Problem?" Torn growled out

"Nah, just some private banter if you don't mind"

We left before he could reply and followed Jak to the factory, I had put my jacket back on and my hands were shoved deep into my pockets

"You know Nanny's right"

"Hm?" I asked, glancing across

"You walk like an old farmer"

I shove her with my shoulder, a smirk playing over my face.

"Actually, you do have a very masculine walk" Daxter commented

"That's the idea" I muttered, loud enough for them to hear

"Uh, why?"

"She wants to be a guy" Robyn put in

"Nah, just like to let guys know that I ain't easy" I replied.

We managed to reach the factory without any problems, I didn't remember it from the game, but kept my thoughts to myself. We let Jak go ahead, taking out guards with his mod. We reached an old storage room and began searching for the pad, after a while Daxter gave up and, grabbing the communicator he asked Torn for directions.

It turned out that we needed to go above the storage room. The only visible access was through a balcony, and to reach that we had to climb a stack of precariously balanced boxes. We decided that Jak would help me up first, then go back down and help Robyn while I found a way to the pad.

We were almost at the top when we heard noises below us, glancing down we saw a pair of guards wandering into the room. From where we were I could see that Robyn had wedged herself behind a large crate and was clutching a baseball bat she had managed to find somewhere.

The guards were passing the crate Robyn was behind when she squeaked in fear, suspicious, they pushed a few boxes aside and one poked his head around the crate. Robyn screamed and the guard jumped back with a yell, but not before he met the fast end of the bat. His helmet was dented so that it was impossible to remove from his head and had blocked his vision. The other guard advanced and was soon joined by his companion when he had managed to shift his helmet to allow sufficient vision. They advanced on her and she shrank into the corner, but they hadn't accounted for my cousin when she's scared. (Trust me, I should know, I once switched off all the kitchen lights as a joke, and because she's terrified of the dark, I nearly lost my arm from the amount of squeezing she was doing to it before I turned them on again.) With a piercing scream she leapt at the guards, lashing out at them with the bat which had been recently clutched to her, knocking them down and hitting them repeatedly to make sure they stayed down.

Jak had climbed back down and was rushing to help her, but by the time he reached her, the guards were lying unconscious.

"Hey twig, didn't know you had it in ya" I called out

I had managed to climb the rest of the way to the balcony with Daxter on my shoulder and was grinning at her appreciatively as she climbed up with Jak. When she reached the top we did our friendship sign before I used it to yank her into a bear hug.

We managed to find the room and were able to activate the trans pad. The other two were trying to figure a way of getting the ammo up, when I noticed something in the corner, shifting a few boxes I found a square hole with a lever on one side and a belt at the back going down the wall.

"Hey guys, check it out"

They came over and stared down the hole, Jak flicked the lever a few times but nothing happened.

"I think it's bust"

"Hang on"

Being a computer addict, and therefore more technically minded. (This isn't a boast, I'm not brilliant, but I'm a lot better than the present company, I think.) I soon had the controls fixed and Jak flicked the lever again, this time there was a humming sound and the belt began to vibrate. Everyone took a step back instinctively as a pile of boxes suddenly appeared through the hole on a platform.

With a whoop of satisfaction Jak began carrying them to the trans pad, before him and I went down on the platform to collect some more crates, Robyn stayed behind with Daxter to control the lever. We had got a sizeable pile by the time Torn contacted us to tell us the pad was ready.

We turned the pad on and quite a few of the boxes disappeared. Soon we had transported nearly all of the boxes, Jak went to collect a few more while I shifted the rest of them.

"That's enough now, Vin's deactivating the pad this side, I'll meet you guys back at the hideout"

The communicator that Jak had left me came to life on my belt, and Torn's voice filled the room. I nodded and went over to the platform to tell Jak, and froze.

The floor was swarming with metalheads, and in their midst, a blonde renegade. Activating the platform I jumped onto it before it reached the top and Robyn pushed it the other way. Before the platform even reached the ground I launched myself off it, landing on a metalhead's back. Jak was lying injured on the ground, grabbing his gun I converted it to Vulcan fury before firing rapidly at the metal heads, when the ammo ran out, I switched to scatter gun and set Jak as well over my shoulder as I could, heading for the platform I fired at any metalheads that came too close. Setting Jak on the platform I followed and called up to Robyn. The platform started moving, but slowly, and I was running out of ammo. The metalheads pushed closer in and were about to attack when the platform left their reach, just as my last bullet had been fired. Robyn grabbed us and helped me haul Jak over to the trans pad, we had stepped on it when I remembered Torn's message.

First I was surrounded by darkness, then lights erupted as something bashed the top of my head, I cried out then groaned as a throbbing headache started up at the back of my skull.

"Hey, who turned out the-yeargh!"

As my eyes became accustomed to the dark I realised that light was seeping out underneath us, a slight force field domed over it, sending a tingling sensation through my hands where they passed through it. By the light I could see Robyn crouching to my left, her hand clutching her head the same as I was mine.

"Who's bloody idea was it to put that there?"

Glancing back I saw Jak's still form lying behind us, glancing around I started to notice peculiar bulges in the surrounding space, feeling round I soon discovered that we were kneeling under a pile of wreckage, it was only due to the twisted remains of a zoomer that there was any space at all. Grabbing a sheet of metal I eased it free before shoving it into Robyn's hands.

"here, shove that over your head"

"What for"

"As soon as I start shoving on this lot there's a chance of some of it falling, stick that over you and it might lessen the blows."

"Why can't we just leave it alone?"

"And get stuck here? No thanks, now belt up and stick that up"

She positioned it at an angle with one end resting on the floor and the other partially resting on the side of the wreckage above Jak, she curled Jak up tighter and leaned over him, allowing enough space for Daxter to curl up between them. I felt at the edge furthest away from them until I felt a place where the debris shifted easily under my hands, putting my weight against it I pushed hard, there was a grating and I felt it move, a few pieces fell and one hit my shoulder, I pulled pack slightly but panicked when it started settling inwards and pushed harder, finally I was able to roll free as a metallic crunch echoed behind me, rolling over I got up and went to inspect the hole I'd made. It had been partially closed up again, but by carefully removing a few loose items I was able to widen it enough to be sufficient for Robyn and Daxter to climb out. Climbing back in I eased Jak out and Robyn took him under the arms to pull him clear while I got out. Standing up I turned full circle and froze, the room was circular, to one side there was an entrance to another room, on the other the side it was open, most of this had collapsed, but through where it was stable, I could see wooden steps doubling back on themselves to the room above.

Kiera's workroom.

With Robyn's help we were able to Get Jak onto the base of the remains of the stairs where we were free of anything which might collapse. We sat there for what seemed like an age trying to think of a way to get back, several times Daxter had attempted to wake up Jak with no success. Bored I grabbed Jak's jet board and after figuring out how it worked, started practising with it. An idea struck me, but like all my ideas, it had problems. What if we used the jet board? Pros; get Daxter, Robyn and me out, when Robyn figured out how it worked, cons; what about Jak?

Darkness was setting, I had found a small gourd In Jak's pouch, and was gently splashing his face with it. Sitting him up I allowed a small bit to trickle down his throat.

"You know, there's one way that you could wake him up" Daxter said

"What?" I asked, starting to get a bit grumpy from frustration

"Give him a kiss" he suggested

"What!"

"Works in stories"

"Twig"

"Yeah?"

"Throw him off the roof for me"

Even though the idea was tempting, this is the girl who's experience with boys is at an all time low, the only thing I'm any good at is getting into a fight with them.

Luckily for me, and Jak, he started to come round at that point.

"Ugh, what the?"

He looked around groggily then set his head back on my lap, closing his eyes as nausea set in

"Morning sleeping beauty, have a nice sleep?"

"Uh? Get back to you on that"

"You just had a lucky escape mate" Robyn said, poking her head over the edge of the steps where she had climbed, I had moved to the side of them.

"Why?" he rose slightly, eyes scouring the area around them before I pushed him back down

"Dax was trying to talk me into giving you a kiss, seeing if that would wake you up"

He settled back, murmuring something as his eyes fluttered close.

"Hey, don't think you're going back to sleep mate, we need your help to get off of here"

"Would you listen to her, she was quite gentle earlier when she was trying to wake you up"

I glared at Dax but said nothing as I helped Jak sit up. Robyn came down and sat beside me.

"You should've gone for the kiss while you had the chance" she muttered to me

"Shut up, why didn't you do it?"

"Wasn't me he was talking to"

I glared, but contented myself with ruffling her hair.

Jak stood up and activated his board.

"Well? Get on"

I looked at him unsurely and with a sigh he picked me up round the waist and set me on the board, it wobbled but he held me steady as Robyn climbed on, he got on behind me and held onto us as he pushed off the edge, Robyn let out a yell but I just clung on, biting my lip hard, Daxter was on my shoulder and his tiny claws dug into my neck. We passed over the water until we managed to find land, Robyn jumped off, causing it to over balance and tip Me and Jak over, I landed on top of him and he winced as my arm landed on his stomach, I tried to get up but his hands were on my back.

"I-I'm sorry" I stammered as I finally got up, I passed him his board before walking over to Robyn

"What's up?" she asked as she saw my pale face

"Nothing"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone"

"Huh?"

"Your little fall"

I elbowed her but we were saved further argument by Jak approaching us.

"You two all right?"

We nodded and I headed off, trying to get my bearings

"What'd I say?" he asked, looking bewildered

"Don't worry, she's just like that, not a big people person"

They followed as I made my way back, it took a while to get our position as everything looked so different in real life, but I was soon ploughing ahead, while the others trying to catch up.

We soon reached the main city and were able to hijack a zoomer to the hideout. When we entered, we found it empty, so we gratefully collapsed on a bunk, I rolled over and attempted to sleep, but the memory of being so close to Jak would not leave my mind.

"hey, you all right?"

I glanced over at the bed to the left of the one opposite to see Robyn already asleep, Daxter curled up at her feet. I considered feigning sleep, but for some reason decided against it, rolling over I gazed up at him, lost for a moment in those blue eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked slightly startled, with a start I realised that a tear had fallen down my cheek, but before I could dash it away, he had already done it, his fingers gently brushing my face. Jolts of electricity danced up my spine, and my breath caught in my throat before I realised he was looking at me with concern.

"I-It's nothing, my eyes water easily when I'm tired"

"You should rest, but, can I ask you something?"

"Depends, what?"

"What happened in dead town?"

"We were transported to Kiera's workroom from the factory, you were hurt, and we couldn't get off"

"No, after that, when, when you fell on me"

I looked down, suddenly finding the bed sheets very interesting.

"Bad habit of mine, I've never been very good around people" I replied "I'm like it with anyone I don't know, nervous around them if I'm on my own, and being tired doesn't help, I get paranoid"

"So, it wasn't me"

I looked up "no, of course not, I'm just not a very good -"

"People person, your cousin told me"

"Trust her"

We smiled, and I felt as if the air had cleared a little, I realised I didn't feel as uncomfortable around him as I usually do round guys, and felt a little regret as he got off the bed with a sigh and settled down on the one next to mine, smiling I lay back down and managed to dose.

When I woke I could feel someone watching me, I panicked at first when I didn't recognise my surroundings, but soon remembered the events of yesterday, rolling over I saw Torn leaning against the foot of the opposite bed, a smirk playing on his features.

"What?" I growled out

"You talk in your sleep" he said, the smirk becoming more pronounced, "Don't worry, I won't tell Jak"

"Tell me what?"

I got up and stretched, my top lifting, showing my midriff as my arms reached over my head before running my hands through my hair in an attempt to tidy it, giving up I pulled it into a pony tail.

"Nothing, so, any suicide missions you want to send us on before I look for a bite to eat?"

"only one, Onin wants to see you ,says it's urgent"

I was about to go out the door when I realised something.

"Oh shit" I muttered

"What's up with you?" Robyn asked emerging from her bed, her hair standing up slightly on one side

"Looks like we're gonna have to skip breakfast"

"wha-, Why?" she asked combing back her hair with her fingers.

"No money"

"Here"

Torn tossed me a small pouch, inside it were several precursor orbs, smaller than in the game, of which I was glad.

"Come on, let's go"

"Where?"

"Bazaar" I replied halfway out the door

On the way to meet Onin we brought some of the strange fruit the stalls had to offer, and we still had a load of orbs left.

"Hey, we could go shopping"

"No, we need this for food"

"Come on, how long do you think we're gonna be here"

"We don't know, and we can't take any risks"

"There you are, about time" Pecker squawked as we entered the tent. "Onin says that although you have done well so far, you hearts alone will not help you, the precursors have agreed to aid you in your quest, so that you may return safely to where you belong."

I felt a tingling sensation, and the room lightened, voices buzzed in my head, and although I felt no physical change, I felt as though anything was possible, my fingers itched, ready for a fight, and my eyes seemed sharpened. The light diminished and the feeling subsided, but remained there, just touching the surface.

"Steph, Onin says you must follow your heart, and not hold back when you feel the time is right, And Robyn, you will be tested as never before, but never forget the ties of friendship, when they seem to be no more"

We left and the sunlight seemed strange, I could see every detail as if I was looking through a microscope, Robyn clamped her hands over her ears. "Man, someone make them shut up" we could hear a couple giggling, but it sounded pretty reasonable to me

"What's up?"

"Yargh! Not so loud, why is everyone shouting?"

"We're not" I said normally

Something suddenly struck me, "the precursors"

"What?"

"We've been give special abilities, that's why I can see clearly, and why you can hear everything as if through a loudspeaker"

"Yeah? Well where's volume control?"

"You'll get used to it, it's like a loud CD, after a while it doesn't sound so bad"

We got back to the hideout and for once I was the one pacing, restless

"Will you stand still?" Torn growled out

"Will you give us a mission?"

"There are none at the moment"

"Well where's Jak?"

"At the Hip Hog"

"Come on" I called to Robyn and we headed off

"Now what?"

"Let's see what kinda trouble we can get into"

On the way we soon discovered what our new abilities were, My sight was improved and I knew about weapons, I put the restlessness down to us both having improved fighting abilities, but while I was eager to smash someone's face in, Robyn was more calm and collected and the sensible thinker her hearing had also improver dramatically and she had been provided with a knowledge of explosives, I've got a mini Jinx on my hands

"Sounds like a fight" she commented as we approached the Hip Hog

"Oh yeah, time for some action"

"Cam down would ya, I though you were supposed to be the bright one"

"Can't help with what I'm given, perhaps I need to work off a little steam"

We entered and found the centre cleared, two men were having a fight, one was knocked off the platform and someone announced the winner as we reached the edge. A huge burly fellow got onto the platform and called out a challenge

"Oh yeah, time to send him packing"

"You crazy? Lookit the size of him"

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall"

"You just answered my question, you are crazy"

I climbed onto the platform and threw his challenge back at him, he look stunned, then burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, you think you can beat me? Well sorry, I don't fight girls, why don't you go home to your mommy?"

"Know what? I think you're chicken"

"Say what?"

"You don't want to lose to a girl, well you'll soon learn, I'm no ordinary girl"

"Right, I was going to go easy on you, but when you call me a coward, you leave me no choice, you're on"

And with that he threw a punch at me which I dodged, he continued a few steps past me and before he could turn I elbowed him in the small of the back, he howled in pain before throwing another one, this caught me on the side and I yelled as I felt a searing pain, he threw another which I dodged and I landed a flying kick, I hit but landed with my back to him, he took the chance and grabbed me from behind and squeezed me tight, in the shouts from the crowd a voice came through clear.

"Steph, remember what we learnt from miss Congeniality, SING, remember to SING"

I frowned, sing? This was a fight, not a karaoke, but wait, of course, S.I.N.G. Clenching my fist I sunk my elbow into his stomach, he relaxed his grip and I was able to stamp on his instep, he let go of me completely, spinning round I ignored the nose and, grabbing his shoulders, kneed him in the groin. He collapsed, and before he could get back up, I landed my fists on his back, he cried out in pain as he fell flat and called for surrender, there were a few unsure mutterings from the crowd before cheers erupted, I whooped and punched the air as I jumped off the platform and landed at Robyn's side, pain shot through me and I doubled, clutching my stomach, Robyn immediately led me to a deserted booth and sat me down, Jak soon joined us.

"That was awesome" Daxter shouted from his shoulder "Do it again"

"Not likely" Robyn growled

"Are you OK?"

I looked up and met Jak's concerned gaze, smiling I nodded

"Yeah, the guy had a knuckle duster, a cheap one at that"

My side had been protected by my top, if it had been a stronger duster, then the gash on my side would have been worse.

Robyn went and talked to the barmaid and she brought out a medical kit, soon my side was bandaged and we were leaving.

"Wait"

We turned as Krew caught up with us.

"That was quite a battle, perhaps you would ahhh, consider a position here? Hmmm? Just a few nights"

"No thanks, not interested"

"Very well, but the offer's still open if you change your mind"

"As if" I muttered as we walked along the port

"Hey Steph, how do you feel?"

"Great actually, I'm not as restless"

"Yeah, maybe you were right, maybe you just needed to blow some steam, but, I think I'll stick to the gym"

"They have a gym here?"

"A few training grounds, like the shooting range, not many." Jak replied

Back at the hideout we found Torn had disappeared again, a couple of members were there but they didn't hang around for long.

We lounged around for a while. Listening to Daxter's 'heroic' tales, it was amusing to watch Jak's face as he tried to keep it straight, after a while though, I got restless again. Shifting Robyn from my shoulder, I stood up and headed for the exit.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

Turning round I saw Robyn standing with her hands on her hips.

"For a walk"

"Well? Wait for me"

"Hurry up then"

"Hey, you girls gonna be all right?"

"Yeah we'll be fine" I shot over my shoulder at Dax.

Out in the slums, we made our way to the water slums, chatting about random things. Neither of us was aware of footsteps behind us, or the zoomer changing zone, not until we both were knocked into an alley. Three men in hooded jackets were upon us, we fought them, but a couple of them had picked up a couple of metal poles, they knocked Robyn out, and while they bundled her into a zoomer, advanced on me. My breathing was heavy, and I could feel a warmth seeping over my torso and legs, taking a chance risk, I barged through them, slipping on something as I burst from the alley, an engine started up and I was aware of a vehicle passing over me as I collapsed against a wall.

I don't know how I got back to the Hideout, all I remembered was the doors opening and Torn's pissed look turning to one of concern as I staggered in.

"…Robyn…he…" I gasped, collapsing before the sentence was formed.

Groaning I opened my eyes and stared at the springs on the underside of the bunk above me. My whole body ached as I shifted, and as I tried to roll onto my side something pulled at my midriff. I glanced down an noticed bandages around my waist and, through a cut in the side of my jeans on my right leg, I could also feel a pull on my left arm and assumed that was bandaged too.

A hand descended on my shoulder and gently but forcefully pushed me back onto my back, glancing up I met Torn's grim face, something was wrong, but what it was, I couldn't remember.

"wha-?" I started to ask, when I remembered the alley, shooting into a sitting position I swung my legs out of bed and stood up, I ignored the pain that shot through me, that was, until my head started to feel groggy, my vision blurred to the point that I was no longer aware of where I was and my legs felt ready to collapse until I grabbed a bunk post. I was aware of arms supporting me and glancing behind me was met with Torn's chest, his arms were round my waist, his hands holding my wrists as he guided me to sit on the nearest bunk.

"You're not going out in that state, Jak and the rat have gone to look for your friend, the best thing you can do is tell me what happened."

"He won't find her" I said quietly

"Why not?"

"Some men carried her off in a zoomer"

"Do you know why?"

"No, we were walking towards the water slums, when three guys forced us into an alley, they attacked us, and two of them hit us with metal scaffolding poles, Robyn was knocked out and placed in a zoomer, but I got free from the alley and remember hearing a zoomer start up, after that, nothing except collapsing here"

Torn looked thoughtful, before standing up from his crouched position and reaching for a communicator.

"Where about was it?"

"Near the bend where you enter the water slums"

"Anything about the men?"

"Not much, their faces were covered by hoods"

"Could all patrols who were near the water slums last night please report if they saw any suspicious activity concerning three hooded men in a zoomer." he barked at the communicator before turning back to me, I didn't see however as I hung my head to hide the tears that I couldn't stop. "Don't worry, we'll find her" he said more gently.

I looked up at him and nodded as I dashed the tears away.

"Bloody weakling" I muttered to myself "How long was I out?" I asked as I pulled my hair into a ponytail so it rested just below my shoulder, it was a darker brown from what it had been when we arrived due to three days of city grime and not being washed for as long.

"6 hours, then you came to for a minute before falling asleep. If you want a shower, there's a member who lives nearby, she would be glad to look after you for a while, you could get your clothes fixed as well"

I nodded, I wasn't really in the mood for doing much, but as there was nothing I could do, it would be best probably to take my mind off it.

Following his directions I made my way to the right building, Torn promising he would contact me if anything was found out.

"Hi, you must be Steph, Torn called and said I'd have a visitor, I'm June by the way"

I was met by a cheery young woman, her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and a red bandanna covered her neck, she wore tan combats and a black tank top, heavy boots were on her feet. I smiled, something about her was familiar, she reminded me of Jinx, and not just by the way she wore her hair.

She showed me to the bathroom and took my jeans and T-shirt while I got a shower, my muscles ached and I longed to sit down, but first, I decided to get rid of he grime.

When I had washed my body and hair, I filled the bath with warm water and eased myself into it, laying back as I allowed the water to ease my aches.

"There you are, I thought you'd fallen asleep in there" June joked as she handed me my jeans for inspection. The stitch work was good, I could hardly tell where the tears had been, they were slightly damp and she explained that she had washed them after they had been fixed. I borrowed a pair of black combats and a black T-shirt while my clothes dried, we then sat down with a warm drink, the communicator was clipped to my belt, and my hand hovered over it when it had nothing else to do.

"Worrying won't help" she pointed out, I nodded, remembering when I told my dad the same thing after my mum had taken the car for a drive after an argument.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her

"Sure"

"Do you know Jinx by any chance?"

"No one knows that guy, not even his own sister"

"He has a sister? I thought you two looked alike"

"What about you?"

"Not really, Robyn's my cousin, but we were so close when we were growing up, that she's as good as"

Suddenly my communicator burst into life and I spilt some tea as I grabbed it, apologising, I activated it.

"Steph? We've got a lead, someone said they saw the men you described speeding towards Dead Town, Jak's on his way to check it out"

"I'm going with him"

"No, you're in no state to go anywhere"

"Look, if you can betray the underground to protect Ashelin, I will defy you for my Cousin, got that?"

There was silence on the other end, then a sigh, "Fine, Jak'll pick you up on the way"

June re-bandaged my wounds and I was just changing into my own clothes when Jak showed up, reloading my gun I grabbed some extra ammo before jumping on behind him. I threw a thanks over my shoulder as we sped off.

Once we reached Dead Town we searched around till we found a wrecked zoomer, the engine was still slightly warm and the tracks leading from it were deep.

It took some finding, but in the end the tracks led to some caverns below Dead Town. The main cavern was swarming with metal heads, and some humans were there also in their midst. One side of the cavern sloped upwards, and it was at the top of this that we found the main entrance. Jak quickly dived behind a pile of rocks, pulling me with him, and we crawled behind them till we reached a point where two rocks jutted upwards, providing us with a crack to look through while still hiding us from any unwanted gaze.

The cavern was roughly circular, and huge, at the opposite end to where we were, the rocks formed a large crevice, and it was in this that the Metal-Head leader was perched. I felt Jak's grip on my arm tighten as he saw him, and I put my hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Not yet" I whispered

He turned to look at me

"Why not?" he hissed

"The circumstances need to be different, look down there" I said, pointing to the swarming metalheads "Go down there now and you'll be dead before you even get close enough to fire a single shot"

"What can we do then?"

"Wait until the time is right, you have a lot to do till then"

"I meant about your cousin"

---------------------------------

Hey, not much of a cliffe, but I've never tried one before, and I was intending for this to be a one chapter story, but I'm not sure how long it'll be. This was partly a joint effort, there were some scenes which Twig (Robyn) came up with, such as the scene with the baseball bat.

Because I hate to keep people waiting, I think I'll write the second Chapter for Robyn, she's made it clear that otherwise it'll never get written.

Tell me what you think, and please, review my other fanfic as well, even if it's to tell me it's a load of crud, I need feedback!

Chapter two will be up soon, don't worry, not all end notes will be this long.


	2. Leaving

Heya, me again, sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to go through it all again to try and get rid of the clichés, some changes have been made to the previous chapter, and check what I had done was ok with my cousin, and I wanted to change the ending I originally wrote… (goes on with long list of excuses).

I'd just like to give a big thank you to everyone who's reading this note, because it means that they've read the first chapter and thought this story worthy of following. Anyway, this chapter starts from Robyn's point of view, three dots show a change of POV.

WARNING: Strong language ahead

**Enter my World**

Everything swam as I tried groggily to open my eyes, giving up I attempted to roll over, deciding it must be too early for wakefulness to be humanly possible, I stopped though as something pulled on my arm, something wet. Damn, why did I have to leave the window open when it decided to rain, I reached to untie my arm with my other hand, and found that one trapped as well, a frustrated groan emitted from my throat, followed by the sound of something moving nearby. As my eyes were stubbornly resisting my attempts to open them, I could not see what was happening, but one word echoed through my mind. Molly. God I hated little sisters.

What the hell was she doing in my room? Oh right, we were staying at nanny's, she always comes in and climbs into Steph's bed in a morning when one of us sleeps over at the other's house.

At that moment something pinched my arm, 'right' I thought angrily 'that's it' and I managed to tear my arm free, as I did though something grabbed it that wasn't a hand, finally my eyes snapped open, and I wished they hadn't.

I had no words to describe what I saw, okay I lied, it looked like a bloody great scorpion with a light in its head, but at that moment only one sound was running through my head, up my throat and out my mouth as an ear splitting scream. I struggled to get away from it and managed to throw it onto the floor, I watched it warily, then noticed a load more heading for me, I though I saw something else, but at that moment I was so terrified that all I could think was 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die' over and over, now usually I'm not one for swearing, well not as much as Steph is, but at that moment I didn't care, and was cursing enough to make a sailor seem polite.

Then a huge creature headed for me and my fear choked my screams.

"Now, what's all this racket?" the, 'thing' is all I can think to describe it, asked me.

'Oh cra-ap' I moaned inwardly 'why didn't I pay attention to that stupid game? At least… wait, he's grinning, why is he grinning, he looks hungry, he definitely looks hungry, n-now don't you look at me like that, you can just stop that right now, oh crap, now what, what's the point of special abilities if they get you killed? Argh! If I get out of here alive I am going to KILL Steph, she'd better watch out because if she's alive at the end of this it won't be for long, stupid bloody game, stupid bloody powers, stupid bloody metal-heads! ARGH!'

Now, while this little rant was going on inside my head, I had started thrashing around, my expression had gone from one of utmost horror to anger, and I was using what little movement I had to take my anger out on the thick strands that held me to the sloped rock face, nothing able to stop me.

"ENOUGH!"

Except that.

"Why are you doing this, why haven't you killed me?" I asked, and cursed myself, great going, if he hadn't been thinking of killing me he would be now and, wait, he's grinning again, that can't be good.

"Don't worry, we won't kill you"

I relaxed, maybe him grinning wasn't that bad

"Yet"

Or maybe it was

"Why not?" I asked, telling myself that there had to be a reason, so for now I was safe.

"We needed a lure, and seeing how close you and your friend were to Jak, you presented an easy target"

"Couldn't you just give him an invite?" I asked hopefully

He laughed and 'walked' off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"Oh, don't worry about getting lonely"

And then again

"My minions would love a little playmate"

Yep, now he had my full attention

"You said you weren't going to kill me!" I called after him

"Yes, I did, but I didn't say anything about hurting you"

Okay, let's do a checklist, fully working lungs? Check, judging by the amount those rocks are shaking, Evil bad guy holding me captive? Check, Concerned cousin rushing to my rescue with brave hero? Uh, nope, don't see one, Steph? HURRY UP!

…

Meanwhile…

"I meant about your cousin"

I stared at him and it suddenly dawned on me that we hadn't seen her in the cavern, that idea was soon ripped to shreds like my eardrums as a scream rendered the air, turning I saw a Scorpion-like metal-head thrown, revealing my screaming cousin. I also saw that her screams had caught someone else's attention as a large figure headed towards her. I attempted to climb over the rock but Jak dragged me back down and held me, I thumped his chest repeatedly, but he wouldn't let go, instead he kneeled and pulled me closer so my arms were trapped between us and I was straddling his legs, I tried to push away from him but he was too strong.

"Let go of me, I have to get to her!"

"No, remember what you told me? If you go down there now you'll be dead before you reach her"

I screamed into his shoulder before giving way to silent tears. Jak gently rocked back and forth, his hands passing over my back.

It was so comfortable sitting there like that, but I forced myself away. Brushing my tears away I returned to watching the scene below us. Jak kept a hand on my arm, more in case I decided to attempt to get at Robyn again.

We couldn't hear what was being said, at one point we head him shout as Robyn started to thrash about, but that was it.

I tried to concentrate on a plan, but it was impossible, every time I looked at her I had to hold back tears, and whenever I turned my back I couldn't stop worrying about what was happening.

In the end I collapsed with my back against the rock and my head hanging between my arms, the elbows of which were resting on my raised knees, bent so my wrists were almost touching.

"fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK" I cursed, trying to keep my voice low

"What?" Jak asked alarmed

"Nothing, just trying to release tension without hitting something, if I don't I'll start crying again" I answered.

I felt Daxter on my ankle but my head remained lowered.

"I just don't know what I'd do if I lost her" I said quietly, my voice breaking slightly.

Daxter put a paw on my arm and I raised a my head to look at him.

"Don't worry sugar, we'll get your cuz back"

I smiled sadly and opened my arms so he could climb into a hug, Jak put a hand on my shoulder, and I started to smile when I heard it.

"You said you weren't going to kill me!" I heard Robyn call

"Yes, I did, but I didn't say anything about hurting you"

Putting Daxter down I scurried over and looked through the rock, a group of metal-heads were advancing towards her and she was trying her hardest to get free.

"ROBYN!" I yelled and grabbing a gun leapt over the rocks before Jak could stop me.

"Jak, get after her!" Daxter called frantically

…

Back down Below

I started to struggle as they started getting closer, then a voice was heard over my screams.

"ROBYN!"

My head shot up

"Steph?" I asked, not daring to get my hopes up in case I was hallucinating, but a flash of Denim proved me right, as red flashes shot through the metal-heads

"What took you so bloody long?" I shouted as she got closer

"Sorry, only had an army of metal heads in the way, that with trying to find you and being unconscious, what do they want you for?" She asked as she took a knife from her back pocket and started hacking at the strands, shooting started up behind her and I looked up to see Jak heading towards us gun at the ready

"To lure Jak here, where'd you get that?"

"June, Jinx's sister"

"Who and who?"

"Never mind, talk later, get out of here alive now"

There was only my left arm to free now, she stuck the dagger into the strands between my wrist and the rock, looking around I noticed the same strands holding the eggs to the walls, but before I could think about it, someone screamed, and this time, it wasn't me.

Looking down I saw Steph wrestling with a metal-head, her hand at its throat as she attempted to keep its snapping jaws away from her face.

The dagger was still lodged in the strands, grabbing it I hacked at them until my wrist came free, unfortunately my feet weren't near the ground so as soon as my wrist came loose I fell down the slope and onto the metal-head, crushing him in the process.

"Steph" I called out, she had a cut above her right eye, but other than that appeared unhurt.

"Knew you had some use" she joked, grabbing her arm I helped her to her feet and we dashed to the exit.

"JAK!" she called when we reached the exit "LET'S GO!"

We ducked into the tunnel and were soon joined by Jak and Daxter, at the end we shot down the rocks above the tunnel so they blocked it.

"Come on" I gasped "let's get out of here"

…

Back at the hideout, Robyn collapsed on a bed, I collapsed next to her and pulled her into a hug, we let the tears of relief fall, soon joined by joyful laughter. Jak and Daxter celebrated, till eventually we all fell asleep, exhausted by the days events.

When I woke up I switched to a top bunk and lay there brooding, silent tears crept down my cheeks, but I brushed them away. Now there was nothing for us to do, Jak being on a mission and Torn insisting we stay at the hideout, I started to realise how much I missed being at home, what would happen if one of us was killed? Would we cease to exist there as well?

"Hey Steph"

Trust Robyn to ruin a sombre moment

"Yeah?"

"Whatya doing?"

"Thinking about home"

"Yeah, me to"

She had climbed onto the ladder and was leaning on the bunk

"How do think we're going to get home?"

"Don't know. Hey, I've just thought of something, what if we ask Onin?" I suddenly asked

"Worth a shot" She nodded and we dashed for the door

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"Onin's" we shouted before leaving, not waiting for a reaction.

We Rushed into the tent and stopped bent double to catch our breath, not noticing that someone other than Onin was in the tent.

"Onin says she has been expecting you, but she expected you sooner that this"

"Sorry" I gasped, standing up straight.

"Onin says that what you seek can only be found if you fulfil your desires" Pecker said "Including ones that go deeper than watching a race"

I blushed at this, but had now noticed the third occupant of the tent, so ignored Robyn's questioning looks.

…

Steph was acting strangely, but why, I could only guess at, I had a feeling she knew what Onin was on about, but it looked like I wasn't getting it out of her at the moment. I'm not stupid though, I knew it had something to do with Jak after the way she looked away when she saw him.

We hung around outside the tent for a while leaning against one of the walls, the area was practically deserted, mainly because most of the stalls around here seemed to be either abandoned or just shut up. Steph yawned to my left.

"Tired?"

"A bit, it looks a lot easier on a TV screen"

I nodded before letting out a yawn as well, smiling at me she lifted her arm above my head and I leaned against her, she put both her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug.

"We'll be all right" she assured. I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment as I felt her head rest against the top of my own.

"Hey, sleepy heads, save it for somewhere that you won't get your heads blown off"

Suddenly an annoying voice cut in and we were dragged back to reality, Steph let go of me, and I could tell from just one look how much she would have loved to of shot Daxter there and then, by the looks of it, Jak wasn't too pleased either, as a hand reached up to clip his ear.

"Ow! Hey, watch it, I was only making a simple observation" He complained, but it fell on deaf ears as we headed over to the HipHog.

"What does Krew need you for now?" asked Steph when she saw where we were heading.

Jak shrugged "Just said he had a job"

The HipHog was empty, as seemed the norm in this game, except for a girl behind the bar

"Tess" Steph whispered to me when Jak had made his way to the bar, we sat in a booth, close enough to hear what was being said.

"That Tess must be a really dumb blonde if she doesn't know how big a phoney Dax is" I whispered to Steph, she nodded and smiled.

Dax was telling Tess some tall tale about one of his many 'adventures', Jak was just sitting there with a drink trying not to laugh.

Steph rolled her eyes at me when Tess laughed and started fussing Dax.

"Hey! Back to work toots!"

We both jumped as Krew appeared over the bar, I saw Steph look over at a booth on the other side of the bar where a guy was sitting. She groaned.

"What?" I asked her

"Erol"

At that moment Krew shot into the air in a fit of rage, this seemed like a cue for Erol to wander over to them. I grabbed Steph's arm as she reached for her gun.

"Please, just one shot, that's all I need, just one damn shot." she pleaded.

"No, does Erol die at this point in the game?"

"No" she grumbled

"Then you can't, remember what Onin said"

"Humph" she sat back in the booth with her arms crossed.

"You're on" we heard Jak growl at Erol, and the both of them headed for the door.

"Where're they going?" I asked

"To race" She said simply

"Wanna follow?" I asked

Without a word she nodded to Tess, leaving a few orbs by our glasses, and we headed to the stadium section.

At the stadium, we hung around by one of the statues, Steph, being Steph, couldn't stay in a sensible place, mainly due to the fact that she had angered a few KG on the way, and instead walked round the top of the base of the statue so she was sitting over the bottom of the steps.

A short while later Jak came racing into the area, skidding to halt short of the statue where we were perched, I had moved to there a short while after Steph. He did a victory sign and Daxter jumped up in triumph, then Erol braked a short distance away from him.

"Don't get too cocky outlaw" he growled "Next time we race for keeps, and your head will be my trophy!" and with that he slammed his mask down and sped off

"Yah! Blow it out your ear" Dax shouted after him "You were bottle fed weren't you?"

"I swear Erol's gay sometimes" Steph whispered in my ear

"Huh? How come?"

"I'll show you some of the videos when we get back" she whispered.

"Hey, how'd you two get here so fast?" Dax asked as he jumped beside us

Steph took the folded map out of her pocket and held it up. "This, and a few crashed zoomers" she said

"And you're up here because?"

"Because the KG aren't as lenient when it comes to Hit and Run" she said with a half smirk.

Jak was still hovering just within reach of where we were sitting, watching the zoomers as they went past, seeing the one he wanted he leapt off the one-seater, sending it crashing to the ground with an explosion which yanked us from our conversation, Jak landed on a two-seater zoomer, putting it in pedestrian zone he allowed the vehicles precious occupant to scramble from it and run off.

"What did you do that for?" I asked, surely there wasn't any need for that, I would of looked to Steph for help, but knowing her, she probably did that in the game for fun.

At that point Jak's communicator went off, he listened for a while before motioning for us to get into the vehicle, Steph got in first and I sat on her lap, Daxter climbed across us to Jak's shoulder.

"Jak, could you drop us off at Onin's tent?" Steph asked. Jak nodded and made his way over to the bazaar.

…

"We'll meet you back here later, Ok?" I asked as Jak dropped us off.

He nodded "Samos wants me to pick something up from Dead Town, I'll pick you up when I bring it back here" he said.

I nodded and stood back from the Zoomer as he lifted off, I knew he would be a while so I went and sat with Robyn at a stand which was selling pottery, with nothing else to do we stood around examining the stall's produce, taking extra care to avoid the fish stalls.

"Where's Jak gone anyway?" Robyn asked me.

"To get the life seed from the sacred site"

"The whatta from what?"

"Never mind" I said with a half laugh

"There he is, get him!"

"That's our cue" I said

At that moment Jak dove round the corner, Daxter hanging from his shoulder for dear life.

"Over here!" I shouted, he ran over to us and all three of us pegged it for Onin's tent.

"Onin says What took you so long?" Pecker squawked as we entered "We had to skip lunch waiting for you two" he said, I could see Onin getting annoyed behind him and he noticed it too when blue sparks flew at him "Oh okay…okay. She really says 'thank you for saving the life seed' but I wouldn't say that if I were her." Jak walked past him and stopped in front of Onin "Give the Onin the seed and she will prepare it for Samos" As he said this, the seed floated from Jak's hand into Onin's. Onin made strange symbols in the air while Pecker started at the seed hungrily. "Mmmmm… Bird seed…" I stood back with Robyn and watched as the two animals started to fight.

"Back off, feather weight!"

"Listen Tiny tail, I was leading my hundredth flock south before you had fur one between your legs! Not that your fur means anything"

"At least I'm not some over stuffed, over yappin' feather dusty mouthpiece for the world's oldest professional" Dax said, pointing at Onin, he then stuck his tongue out and started mimicking Pecker, badly "Jak says 'have a nice day', Jak says 'I can't think on my own', Jak says 'Go bite yourself!'"

"That's it, rat boy, now you've really pissed me off"

They started doing karate poses, until Jak's voice cut across them

"Knock it off both of you"

Pecker leaned in and pocked Dax in the chest

"You're lucky I'm famished

"Onin says take the energised life seed to young Samos in haven forest, it will give Samos the power he needs to finally see the forest from the trees. Go. Quickly!"

"You guys coming?" Jak asked as we headed out of the bazaar

"I think we'll pass on this one" I said

"Where you off to?" He asked as I headed for the industrial section.

"The stadium, we'll meet you there later.

"Why aren't we going with them?" Robyn asked as we walked through the part leading to the stadium.

"Too many KG"

"Huh?"

"Never mind"

"Hey, how can I help you?" Kiera asked as we entered

"Hi, we're friends of Jak's" I replied "We were wondering if you wouldn't mind putting up with us for a while as we're new round here"

"Sure, why not, what do you know about engines?"

"Not a lot, we'll be willing to help however we can though"

So we did, we spent most of the afternoon helping by shifting boxes of parts around and we were able to get our hands a bit dirty when Kiera showed us how to do some simple repairs.

"So, uh, how do you two know Jak?" she asked later that afternoon.

I grunted as I hefted a box of engine parts onto a top, wiping the back of a gloved hand across my brow I glanced over at her.

"we recently joined the Underground, Jak's been showing us the ropes"

"Along with Torn trying to get us killed in the process" Twig added as she dropped a box of tools next to the vehicle Kiera was working on.

"Kiera"

We turned to the entrance to see Samos entering.

"Yes Daddy?"

"I heard Jak was on his way over here, I guess I'll have to wait for him"

"Wait for who?"

"You took your time" I growled out

"Watch it toots, we've just had a bunch of KG harassing us, and not just any KG, FLYING KG, so don't push it" Dax replied, matching my growl

"Kiera" Jak acknowledged, before Samos dragged him off to talk to him about something or other.

It was heading towards evening when we finally got back on track.

"Awww, c'mon Kiera, show us, please?" Dax begged

"I really think it is time you showed us" Samos said.

"I'll show you guys what I've been working on, if you promise not to laugh" Kiera gave in

"Ooooo, I love surprises, and I love to laugh! show me! show me!" Dax begged.

"I've been building a replica of our crashed rift rider machine from old artefacts" Kiera continued, pushing the curtains back.

"That's my girl" Samos exclaimed

"But I'm still missing two pieces" she added

"Figures" Samos muttered

"Vin says I need an artefact called the 'time map', and an old energy gem history books refer to as the heart of Mar, and I've looked in every book on Precursor history I can find, but the rift ring seems to have vanished!"

"You did all this? I mean… that's useful" Jak said, trying to hide surprise.

"oh Will you two stop moping around and make up already?" Dax complained

"I've seen the heart of Mar! Krew has it! We'll get those two artefacts Kiera"

Suddenly a communicator came on overhead "attention all drivers, the class 1 championship race is about to begin!"

"Well, here goes, the race of my life" Jak said with a sigh

"Jak… I just wanted you to know… well, you're the best racer I've ever seen"

I smiled as Jak's face lit up at this.

"Hey! What about me! I helped get us here" Daxter cut in.

"Do you want to drive?" Jak asked him, clearly getting annoyed

"Against that crazy loon Erol? No way! you got the handlebars brother. And you'd better keep us alive or I'll never speak to you again" Dax said back turning his back on Jak "Obviously" he added as an afterthought

"Leave 'em in the dust Jak!" Kiera exclaimed

"See you at the finish line" I told them as we headed for our seats

"See you there"

"Attention brave citizens, today your skill and bravery will be tested for our amusement, and if one of you by some small chance beats our grand champion Erol, you will receive a months supply of Eco" the Baron added something quietly to his guards, but I wasn't interested, I was sitting with my elbow on my knee, my fist supporting my chin. Robyn had confiscated my gun in case the temptation to use Baron Praxis's skull as target practice became too strong, that however was forgotten as the race started.

Half the racers fell on the first lap, Jak stuck to the track, remaining in the middle position, however, in the second lap he used the two shortcuts, and was able to reach second place in time for the third lap, now all that stood between him and the finish was a certain red haired racer, who was giving no lee-way on his position, Robyn was jumping up and down, shouting encouragement to the renegade, I took the chance and snatching my gun, trained it on Erol, I fired, and missed, the bullet however, ricochet off the ground and into the tail of the zoomer enough to cause him to swerve slightly, and that was all it needed for Jak to speed past him and take home the victory.

"YES!" I shouted and jumped up, punching the air.

"Idiot" Robyn muttered, a grin on her face nonetheless

I turned back to the track, eyes training on the blonde, however, a commotion behind us caused us to turn, in time to see a group of guards heading for us.

"I think that's our cue to leave" I muttered, grabbing Robyn we pegged it out of there, joining up with Jak at the exit we ran for the palace.

I collapsed against a wall as we entered, I'd never been a good runner

"Come on" Jak gasped

"Piss off" I growled, but followed him to the Throne room anyway.

Before we reached the middle I yanked Robyn behind a pillar, clamping a hand over her mouth before she could speak.

"Back where we started huh?" Jak asked

"Don't play with me" Ashelin warned him, aiming her pistol at his chest "All along you've been trying to undermine our war with the Metal Heads! Whose side are you on!" she asked angrily.

"Listen Ashelin, Your father's planning something terrible, and if…" Jak tried to reason, but it was no use.

"My father can destroy the Metal Head armies once and for all!" She retaliated, pushing the barrel of the pistol up into his neck.

"If he cracks open the Precursor Stone, the explosion will kill all of us, Don't you get it?" Jak cut in, knocking the gun away, it looked like he was finally starting to get the point through to her.

"That's right" Daxter told her as he started to back off "Not so hard , huh? Even I can figure this one out!"

Jak turned to go, but was stopped by a curt command accompanied by the pistol being pointed at his back. "Don't you move." Ashelin warned "Vin? come in"

"What? What? I've got my hands full here you know!" the panicky voice of the paranoid scientist came through on the speaker.

Ashelin rolled her eyes ""You know all about the precursor myth, right?" she asked him

"Sure, I did my Econetic Energy Doctorate on Precursian Theoretical physics, why?"

"What will happen if the stone were to be… say… violently cracked open?" she continued, her gun trained on Jak as the answer came through.

"Great! As if I didn't have enough to keep me awake at night, you give me one more thing to dread, thank you very much!" Listening to the communicator, Ashelin started to circle Jak "If someone actually had the stone, according to my calculations, a runaway eco surge from cracking it would… theoretically… destroy EVERYTHING!" he finished, Ashelin jerked her head away from the communicator and looked at it in shock.

"Everything?" Ashelin asked as she brought the communicator back so she could speak into it, not wanting to believe what she had heard.

"All things… every single thing…" Vin said, his voice becoming panicked "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go throw up! Bye bye" Vin finished, and I couldn't help but smirk at that last line.

Jak turned to face Ashelin who had circled to behind his back

"Trust me Ashelin, we have to stop him" he pleaded, Ashelin shook her head, trying to make sense of it, finally she made up her mind and turned back to him "I'll try to find out more" she told him, and I saw relief flood Jak's features "But right now, my father is meeting Krew at a secret weapons factory near the dig" stepping forwards she pushed something into his hand "Here. That's my top level security pass. It'll get you into the factory, but it won't get you back out. We never had this conversation" she growled over her shoulder before disappearing.

"Come on Dax, let's go"

"Hey, wait for us" I shouted

"No" he said, spinning round to face us "You two stay here"

Walking forwards I crossed my arms and glared

"Oh yeah?"

"It's too dangerous, You'd be better getting out of here"

"Make me" I growled.

He sighed and turning his gaze to a point on the floor to my left, gritted his teeth as if in pain.

"Jak?" I asked, concerned, but before I could say anything else he strode up to me, placing his hands on my hips he pulled me to him and caught my mouth.

The kiss was short lived however as I jerked my head back and punched him in the stomach.

"What the hell was that for?" I rounded on him

Jak gave Daxter an I-told-you-so glare, clutching at his stomach.

"Hey, it was worth a try" Dax protested

"Tell that to my stomach" Jak grumbled

I rounded on Robyn "did you put them up to this?"

"No!" she protested, but I could tell by Dax's face she had had some part in it.

"You are so dead when we get back" I told her

"IF we get back" Robyn corrected me "We figured if that might help us go back after what Onin said, you being a Jak fan and all"

"I'm not though" I corrected her

Robyn looked confused "So what was it then?"

"Huh?"

"You know, about seeking your desires, your brain malfunctioning or something?"

I gave her a light punch "Why would that involve kissing a guy?"

"'Cause you're a Jak fan"

"Nope, Torn fan" I said only loud enough for her to hear

"Well that doesn't help us does it?"

I thought for a moment, what was it then that I desired? My mind wandered back to home, to my friends and family, and a pang of longing gripped me.

I snapped my finger "I've got it"

"What?" Robyn asked eagerly

"In order to go home, we both have to want it desperately enough"

Robyn frowned "Is that it?"

"Seems the most logical"

She shrugged "Guess"

"Slight problem though" I muttered

"Let me guess, you don't want to go home"

"Not entirely"

She sighed "Typical"

I poked a tongue out at her, then felt a strong hand on my shoulder. Turning I met Jak's gaze and he squeezed my shoulder reassuringly "Maybe it's time to go home"

Home…I looked down, the corners of my eyes starting to sting, I guess a part of me did want to go back. I felt strong arms around me and I closed my eyes, focusing on the feeling as my head rested on his shoulder, remembering similar hugs back home, my dad, uncle, friends from school and the club, I remembered times with family, laughs with friends, messing around with Robyn, and as I thought, the longing grew, till I felt it envelop me, taking me away.

My eyes opened and I was met with a flickering TV screen, leaning forwards I rapped the top of the PS2 hard and was rewarded with the rest of the video, sitting back I put my arm around Robyn's shoulders, shifting as something dug into me in my pocket.

Dropping the console I fished in my back pockets, half hoping, half dreading what I would find there as memories surfaced, and found a small black leather pouch. Tipping it up I held my breath as a few small objects fell out, most of them were egg-shaped, and had a strange language flowing round their middle, one of the other two was a metal rectangular tag, painted dark green and with a black symbol painted crudely on it, the other, was a folded piece of paper, opening it I started at the five faces on it.

I blinked, just in case it was a hallucination, but no, the paper was real, and so was the photo it contained, it had been taken when the five of us, Me, Robyn, Jak, Torn and Daxter, were standing around the table being briefed on a mission, Tess had snuck down and had taken the photo when no one was looking, part of a dare to get a snap of the photo-shy commander. Torn was leaning on his hands, pointing at something on the map, to his left, in order, was Jak, arms folded as he glared at Dax, who was about to make some cutting comment, next to him was me, left arm using my gun as a rest on the table, right thumb hooked in pocket, Robyn was perched on the table, listening to Torn while polishing a pistol she'd been recently given.

At that moment, she started to stir, and hastily tucking the items back into the pouch, pocketed them, before getting ready to face the real world.

AN: I am NOT bashing Tess here, so don't flame me, it's just a simple observation, I am NOT a Tess hater.

One of my best friends runs an Anime club, the NMKAC (Northampton and Milton Keynes Anime Club)

So, whaddya think? I'm thinking of making a sequel to this, and before I can do that, I need feedback so I know whether people will read it.


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